Shooting Stars
by superstarsvtn
Summary: Written for DG Forum's "100 Days, 100 Drabbles" Challenge. Follow along as I participate in this hundred day madness! Set mainly with the pairing of Draco/Ginny, although may occasionally include others.
1. New

**A/N: The start of a new story! Yay! "Shooting Stars" will be a collection of drabbles written for The DG Forum's Challenge, "100 Drabbles, 100 Days." As of this point, my drabbles are designed as stand-alone pieces. If one ever happens to be a "sequel", I'll mention it in an a/n. I'm probably going to keep all of them Draco/Ginny oriented :) **

**So follow along as I take on this challenge! This is just the beginning of the ride! Enjoy it with me :) **

"**_New_**"

_Finally_, Ginny thought to herself as she left the clammy Potions room. Whatever Snape was brewing while he'd been observing her detention had smelled awful. She was glad to be out of there, especially since she'd finished early and so had nearly a whole hour before dinner to relax with her latest book in the common room.

One last corner and a set of short stairs and she'd be back in neutral territory, in the Great Hall and out of the unwelcoming dungeons. She glanced behind her one last time as she turned the corner, but as she found out as she ran into a very solid object, her eyes should have faced forward.

She thumped against a very male chest, dropping all her things and stepping on his feet in the process. The male in question automatically caught her arm to keep her upright, but Ginny immediately took a step back, only to look into the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

He yelped when he dropped his eyes to his shoes. "You _scuffed_ them," He said disbelievingly. "I've not even had these shoes a day and they're already scuffed!"

The tips of Ginny's ears went pink, but she brazenly glared at him. "I'm sure you have a dozen other pairs of the exact same shoe," She said scathingly, quickly gathering her scattered belongings.

"But these are my newest pair!" He said belligerently, as if that simple statement explained everything. He directed an icy glare at her. "I'm not polishing them." He stated haughtily.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Have the house elves do it." She made to move past him in the corridor, except that his expression turned horror-struck, and she couldn't resist stopping to giggle at the sight.

"The… _house elves_," Draco spluttered when he could speak again. "They would make a horrid mess of it! They would ruin my shoes!"

She scoffed and continued moving, except he grabbed her arm. "No, that wouldn't do, having the house elves ruin my newest pair of shoes." He announced. "Well, you'll just have to come along then."

"What!" She tried to jerk out of his grasp, but it was iron-clad. "No way!"

"No other options," Draco said firmly. "Come along, then." He let go of her arm and beckoned her along.

As she followed him, she decided this wouldn't be so bad if she got to look at him the whole time.

**The DG Forum's 100 Days, 100 Drabbles Challenge:**

**Objective:** To write one hundred drabbles in one hundred days or less.

**Guidelines:**

1. The first drabble must be posted after June 20th and the last by September 27th, one hundred days later. The last drabble must be posted within one hundred days. If you aren't able to post on the last day of the challenge, then you may post them - and complete the challenge - earlier.

2. Drabbles must not be more than 400 words long. If you go over, edit.

3. Responses should not be posted in this thread. Instead, I suggest creating a new story and posting them there.

4. Drabbles must be posted in the order prompted, with the prompt as the title of the chapter. Each drabble must be in a separate chapter, if you later post at FIA this rule may be disregarded, as at FIA every chapter must have over one thousand words.

5. Drabbles must be in the HP fandom, but you may use any characters you wish.

**Winners shall have the honour of being included in a Lexicon entry and will be allowed the title: Winner of The DG Forum's 100 Days, 100 Drabbles (posted to their Lexicon user summary).**

**I'm excited for that title already and I've only written the first one! ;) Reviews add to your good karma. Just a side note :)  
**


	2. Broken

**_"Broken"_**

Ginny stared out at the field that had been the Burrow's makeshift Quidditch pitch for as long as she could remember. Her fingernails bit into her palms and she had to force herself to unclench them slowly and breathe through the overwhelming feelings of anger and helplessness at her situation. What was she supposed to do now?

It seemed like her whole life had revolved around Quidditch. If she closed her eyes, she could vividly recall some of her earliest memories. At 4, she toddled around the field begging Charlie for a ride on his new broom. At 6, she'd broken her arm by crashing into a tree because she'd snuck off with Bill's broom to try out something she'd only seen her brother attempt once. At 8, she'd hid in an apple tree and watched Oliver Wood demonstrate a Wronski Feint to an adoring audience, Fred and George. Her summers revolved around improvised games and her school years were dominated by team practices and strategies.

Ginny firmly believed that the only reason she lived through the war is because she was on aerial attack rather than fighting from the ground. The ground made her feel heavy, clumsy, and unwieldy, but the air – oh, being in the air was like nothing else! Some days, she felt like she had wings, soaring as high as she wanted to go, shooting low until she nearly collided with the ground, only to save herself at the last minute.

The Hornets had scouted her after the war was over, and she eagerly accepted, desperate to stay off the ground in those vital months "after" when it was all her family could do just to make it through each day. The air was her escape from a household turned stifling. She trained hard so her mind would be exhausted at the end of each day.

She pulled the window down harshly, shutting out joyful cries and noises from the pitch and wheeled her chair to face the other direction. The potions accident had rendered her legs useless. The Healers said she would never regain use of them, and that they were impervious to magic.

Angrily, Ginny wheeled her chair back to the window just in time to see her daughter score against Bill's oldest daughter. How badly she wanted to be out there refereeing, cheering her daughter on!

But no more. Her wings were broken.

* * *

**Day 2, Broken.**

**Words: 400 **


	3. Hope

**_"Hope"_**

"Ginny," He breathed into her ear. He'd dropped by her apartment, knowing she'd be there at this time Friday night. She'd let him in, knowing what he wanted. He kissed her, savoring the taste of her.

Ginny half-pulled back from him, torment in her eyes. "Draco…no, wait."

He rested his forehead against her. "I can't stay away. You know it – look me in the eyes and tell me you can say no to this."

"You can't keep doing this!" She cried.

He clenched his eyes. "I know. I shouldn't do this…but I can't stop myself. I know it's not fair to her."

Touched, Ginny rested her hand on his cheek. "It's your decisions, Draco. I can't influence you…"

"God." He cursed as he turned away and ran a hand through his hair. "Hell, Ginny, I wish I could say this will be the last time. But you know me better than that. I still will if I'm honest with myself. This just means I shouldn't and should try to stop…but you know how well that's worked out.

He whirled around and took her mouth brutally, and she responded eagerly to his passion.

When he broke apart, his chest heaving for air, she spoke. "This means I'm just as bad. If you act, I respond. I don't stop to think either." She tugged his shirt over his head as his hands made busy work of the buttons on her blouse.

She loved his experience, loved how he knew all the right places and just how to touch her. For these moments in time, she could pretend nothing else existed but them, together. She could pretend his situation didn't exist, that he didn't have a girlfriend. She could pretend he was hers and she wasn't the "other woman."

But when he started getting dressed, the bubble of pretend broke. She flushed with guilt that she'd given in so easily again. But she couldn't pretend that she didn't want this each time he came to her – she wanted it more each time, even if she knew how conflicted it made them. She just couldn't refuse.

As he walked out, she felt the final strands of the bubble break, as well as something inside of her. Because at least when he was in her house, she could pretend they were together. But every time he walked away, she had to hope he'd come back.

* * *

**Day 3, Broken**

**Words: 400**

**As a side note, I already have a prequel to this one in the works! Yay for trying to stay ahead of my drabbles :)  
**


	4. Quills

**_"Quills"_**

Ginny's heart pounded as she slowly approached the narrow stairs to the Owlery. So far, so good. Her secret passages had gotten her this far, and if she could just get to the Owlery, she could care less if she got caught returning. At the bottom of the stairs, she crouched behind a large statue of a regal-appearing owl and pulled an Extendable Ear out of her pocket.

After determining there was no one in the Owlery, she hastily ascended, keeping her footsteps quiet. Several owls hooted at her appearance, and she quickly shushed them and scanned for an appropriate owl to make the arduous trip.

"Here," She whispered, attaching her letter to a particularly sturdy appearing owl's foot. "Take this to- "

She saw a flash of platinum blonde out of the corner of her eye and whirled around as Draco Malfoy stepped out of the shadows, a ferocious black eagle on his shoulder.

A predatory grin widened his mouth. "And what do we have here?" Draco murmured, effortlessly reaching past her and untangling the letter.

"H, don't return." He read. "No entrances are safe. They're waiting for you. –G"

Ginny apprehensively took a step back, but he just advanced. He towered over her.

"I'll be going now." His eyes glittered in the darkness, shining just enough that the rest of him seemed to disappear in the blackness of the shadows. He leaned in, close enough for his words to tingle in her ear and cause her to shiver involuntarily. "I advise you do the same.

He melted back into the shadows, taking her letter with him. Out of the black, she heard his voice once more. "I'll take care of the letter. _Go_."

* * *

"_Honey, our favorite cousin sent this along to me. I hope it reaches your eyes. Love, Mum."_

"_**G, thanks. When there's a will, there's a way. It won't matter if I set my mind to it. –H"**_

_**

* * *

**_

Ginny cautiously stroked the eagle. "I wish there was a way to thank your master." She whispered as she fed it a treat. "I owe him one. Harry was planning to come here if I hadn't managed to get my letter to him."

On her way out, she picked up a few midnight black feather stranded below the eagle. They would be beautiful as quills, she thought idly as she walked out of the Owlery.

* * *

**Day 4, Quills**

**Words: 399  
**


	5. Doorway

_**"Doorway"**_

Draco stumbled up the dirt road, praying this was the final road and he was close. The rain poured down harder with each passing minute, and he was losing strength fast.

"Point me The Burrow," He croaked to his wand. He sighed with relief when it pointed straight ahead. Another cough racked his body, and he struggled to regain his breath.

He had absolutely no idea what day it was, no idea how long he'd been on the run, trying to find the Order's headquarters. The first few days had been exactly what he expected, and so the easiest – it was running and fighting, fighting and running, until the Death Eaters had lost track of him somewhere in the second week.

Suddenly, it became much harder for him to move. It felt like he was struggling through peanut butter, molasses, and mud, all at the same time. Then he felt magic swarm his minds, and realized with sick relief it was The Burrow's wards. Clever, he thought wearily, and then just like that, it was over, the Burrow popping up before him.

Ginny was staring out the window at dinner when she saw a muddy, dark figure appear at the edge of the wards. She jumped up, pointing and shouting something she didn't remember later, her wand in hand.

The wards were cleverly created by Shacklebolt and Tonks – they were designed to only let through anyone who had no intentions of hurting anyone within, and they fiercely protected the Burrow. There were so many protections woven in that it would take hours to break them, as it had taken four and a half days to have it fully up and running.

Draco fell to his knees as they surrounded him, and he threw his wand at Shacklebolt's feet and raised his hands. "I'm unarmed," he croaked. "I'll go through whatever I have to, Unbreakable Vows, bound magic, whatever you want. Just don't send me out there unprotected. Don't let them find me."

Arthur Weasley and Kingsley shared a glance and a nod, and then stepped forward, each man supporting one side of the younger man.

"We know you won't hurt us. The wards will hurt you before you can hurt one of us," Kingsley reassured him.

Draco nearly cried with relief when they carefully supported him into the house, past the worn, shoddily painted doorway. Thank God, he'd made it.

* * *

**Day 5, Doorway**

**Words: 400  
**


	6. Breathless

_**"Breathless"**_

Pansy struggled to breathe as she watched – it was going too far this time, it really was. She could see the murder in Carrow's eyes as he berated the Weasley girl. He had her under Crucio right now, but he was cackling madly as he let the curse up. She whimpered and struggled to sit up, thrusting her arms uselessly against the stone floor.

The rest of the class stood silently, ringed around the spectacle – Slytherins on one side and Gryffindors on the other. Pansy wouldn't expect anything else. None of the Gryffindors could move a single muscle to help her – they'd be treated just as bad as Ginevra and be useless to the others if they made an attempt to help.

Pansy closed her eyes, trying to decide what to do. In the meantime, Carrow hurled a Gut-Chewing Hex at the redhead, who doubled over moaning. Carrow left it on her until she was writhing on the ground, then canceled it, taking his time about it. Maybe she should – no, Pansy thought, panicking. She couldn't interfere. If anyone saw, it would cost Pansy everything, maybe even her life if she was dragged before the Dark Lord. While she wasn't a Death Eater herself, she was forced to be a supporter by pressure from her parents and peers.

On the other hand, she knew the one person she could join on a secret mission to keep the Gryffindors alive – Draco. She knew he'd done little things, like not causing as much pain as he could, in an effort not to hurt them as much. It wasn't fair, as Draco thought, that the students were being punished for an older generation's mistakes.

Shakily, she pulled her wand into her hand inside her robe sleeve. Beside her, Daphne suddenly coughed, and three different arguments broke out in the Slytherin side at the same time as Pansy, and Theodore, shot a Confundus Charm at Carrow. Pansy stared at Theo in utter shock. He gave her a small, secret smile and a half-nod. Other Slytherins were in on this? She and Draco weren't the only ones who felt this way? She swallowed as arguments erupted around her, feeling like she was in her own oasis. Daphne and Theo had to have a plan like this prepared for it to go off this smoothly, Pansy thought. And wondered if Draco knew.

* * *

**Day 6, Breathless**

**Words: 396**

**I'm not sure I like the way this turned out, but this is what my muse gave me :)  
**


	7. Pain

**_"Pain"_**

Draco dropped the last person with a fast working curse and lowered his wand, panting heavily. Around him, the ground was littered with permanently incapacitated or dead wizards and one witch, the leftovers of a hit team. As a decorated officer, Draco had all the training necessary to take on an entire team – 7 mages – and come out on top.

He'd won this battle, though not without great cost to his magical core, which was terribly depleted.

Draco activated the small bud in his ear by tapping on it. "Mission accomplished, my Lord." He said in his low, gravelly voice.

A hoarse voice responded. "Excellently done, First Officer. You may have the rest of the day off."

Draco's smile was a cruel, cold smile. Suddenly, he froze – there was danger in the air. But before he could react, danger struck first. A stunner hit him squarely over the heart and knocked him back, landing hard on his back. He fought through the Stunner and rolled to one side, just as another curse hit the place where he had just landed.

He immediately threw himself into this fight, returning fire. Once he was into the rhythm of the battle, he began to question who dared attack him after observing him take out a team. Because this person clearly understood his methods and strategies. He would go so far as to wager that this person had been specifically trained to counter act his power.

As the speed of the battle picked up, he only grew angrier at his opponent, who, like a shadow, skulked around him, keeping to the dark corners with ninja-like skill. Finally, his anger got the best of him. He screamed out to the Shadow, "Who _are_ you?"

A light, feminine-sounding laugh met his ears, and a figure with a light gray lady's cloak stepped out of the shadows. He narrowed his eyes. Shadow was wearing a hood, with an impossible-to-break Disillusionment Charm on the hood to disguise the figure's face. The bubble around her, rippling with the air, signified an object-based Shield Charm instead of a wand-cast one. He scowled.

Slowly, holding her wand at the ready, she used her other hand to sweep the hood back, breaking the Disillusionment Charm.

He stumbled backwards in shock.

Ginevra Weasley was the Shadow. She smiled, and leveled her wand at his heart, speaking the words she'd been given by memory.

* * *

**Day 7, Pain**

**Words: 400**

**There is a sequel in plot for this one. Just have to find the right prompt for it :) **


	8. Test

_**"Test" -**_** a prequel to "Pain".**

Ginny sucked in her breath sharply as she dove forward and rolled as she landed, coming to rest with her back against a crate. Almost instantly, several spells hit the opposite side of the crate, the combined power making it explode into bit-sized pieces. Ginny scrambled to her feet, rattling off spells as she hurtled towards a corner of the room. If she could get out of sight, just for one minute…

A Breaking Curse missed her leg by centimeters and she threw herself into the shadows with a sigh of relief. Using the flat magical objects on her palms and shoes, she moved up the wall until she was at the corner between the ceiling and the two walls.

She gratefully took the time as a breather and watched the mages converge on her last ground position, and smiled grimly when one turned their back to her in apparent confusion. With a flick and two muttered words, he was down and out for the count. Ginny nearly felt bad – she'd known him, but he'd volunteered to participate in her final test, and he happened to be one of the casualties.

Ginny shrugged it off and moved along the far wall until they had left their postions and had split up to look for her. She dropped down quickly once and took out three in wrist spinning action.

Only one remained, and his identity was hidden from her. At once, she knew. He was the real test. He was the one she truly had to defeat in order to win this. The others were just to confuse her, to toy with her. It made complete sense now.

The first few spells were her experiment for determining his strategy, but his tracking skills were incredibly fast. He kept locking on her position and accurately covering the area with spells aimed at sending her to the ground. And when he finally forced her down, she was terrified she wouldn't be able to take him, but she steeled herself.

He raised his wand against her, and suddenly, she knew exactly what spell he was about to cast.

"Subsisto Virga Raptor!" She cried, and her spell reversed his, slamming him to the ground. She immobilized him and planted a foot on his chest, dragging back his hood.

She stared. And stared.

Harry Potter cracked a smile. "Good job." He croaked at her.

* * *

**Day 8, Test**

**Words: 399**

**'Subsisto Virga Raptor' roughly translates to 'Stop Wand Thief', using an English-to-Latin online free translator, so most likely it's not exact. In case this doesn't make sense to anyone, Harry was going to use his "signature" spell on her, and Ginny's subconcious figured out it was Harry fast enough to stop him. **

**Next up - the pre-prequel to "Hope"! Yes, there are now two prequels! Be excited :)**


	9. Drink

**_"Drink" - the first of two prequels to "Hope"_**

Ginny sat on the floor beside her bed and blinked rapidly, leaning her head against the mattress and staring up at the ceiling. It would have been a typical Friday evening, except for one thing. Draco had left on his trip to visit Pansy today.

She got up, walked around her apartment, and then found herself in the same place again.

Sunday, they'd been having their usual dinner at her place when he'd mentioned he was going to visit Pansy for a week. It wasn't strange – he'd graduated both Hogwarts and University with her, him excelling in Potions and Pansy in Ancient Runes. He'd been close to her during their University years.

It had been shortly before he graduated that he and Ginny had met through some mutal friends, and outside of Hogwart's influence, they'd hit it off. Their friends, of course, had loved this, and practically conspired to make sure there were events where they would see each other. It had been a whirlwind of events involving him – hang outs, movies, parties, and theater. But not all good things can last, and the big event Ginny had been dreading came upon them: Draco's graduation.

After that, he'd backed off physically. Oh, the flirting remained the same – Draco had always and probably would always be a dreadful flirt, always making Ginny blush or laugh with shock. But she liked him that way. There had been little touches, but the friendly intent behind them was clear. He still looked at her the same, but barely touched her. And shortly after, they'd fallen into their pattern of having Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday night dinners together.

Tuesday night had been when Draco spoke up. "In the interest of fair information, I'm not sure yet what my situation with Pansy is, romantically speaking."

Ginny stayed perfectly calm, a feat for her. She believed she was in shock, that's why she wasn't feeling anything. Had to be the reason she had no reaction.

He looked at her. "Upset? Mad? Dissuaded to continue this?"

She considered. "I'm not dissuaded, not right now. We'll see what happens."

He never noticed she hadn't answered the other questions.

Ginny stared at the ceiling, and loosely held the bottle in her lap. It was only Firewhiskey and tonic water, but if Draco suddenly owled that he was dating Pansy, she was drinking it that night.

* * *

**Day 9, Drink**

**Words: 395**

**_Another prequel to "Hope" and hopeful, a sequel are in the works =) Would love to hear your thoughts!_**


	10. Anger

**_"Angry"_**

Scowling, Draco shot a Jelly-Legs Hex at the annoying redhead. Truthfully, he couldn't remember which of them had bumped or shoved or otherwise irritated each other first this time, but he knew they were back to their regular sparring.

Which he shouldn't think was a good thing, but oddly enough, he was glad to see things return to normal. He had missed his daily dose of arguing with someone who could stand up to him.

"You're just angry because I'm spurning your advances," Ginny said loftily as she blocked his curse and idly ventured a Tickling Hex at him.

Draco snorted, but stayed on guard. Her silly attempts to hex him made him very suspicious and cautious because she was usually a much better fighter than this. He kept thinking she was going to sneak a curse past him. It was strange how much better he felt now that they were back to routine. His stint of a relationship with Daphne had been much out of place with his life, Draco realized. The downside of dating Daphne that Draco had hated the most was that throughout the relationship, Ginny had ignored him. She refused to rise to his bait, and ignored him with the air and grace of a queen ignoring a peasant who had displeased her greatly. Thankfully, the relationship had only lasted 9 days, and already, on the first day of his being single, they were toe to toe and pointing wands at each other's throat.

Ah, routine, routine. Such was Draco's life. He smiled, and did the one thing she would never expect. Because she'd never expect it, and it was dirty tactic, of course, NOT because her lips happened to be right there. Naturally.

Draco kissed her, a mind-searing lip-lock, and then casually strolled away from the otherwise empty corridor, leaving one gaping Ginevra Weasley behind.

* * *

**Day 10, Angry**

**Words: 310**


	11. Dreams

**_"Dreams"_**

Ginny supposed she'd always had a bit of hero worship. Well….more than a little, she wryly amended to herself. How long had she had a "thing" for Harry, simply because he had saved her life when she was 11? But the first object of her hero worship had been Harry, of course, after his brilliant rescue of her. However, she hadn't been too over obsessed, and her vow of undying affection had died a quick death when Harry began chasing Cho Chang and hadn't looked at her twice. She'd moved on fairly quickly.

But she'd always had this idea she'd end up with a hero, something buried deep down inside her with the recent events of the war. It made something nice to daydream about while lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling…it took her mind away from heart wrenching events. Over the years, her perceptions of the world had changed, and so had her day dreams. She'd used to dream about the powerful mage who would sweep her off her feet, and at some point she'd been starry-eyed over the "mysterious" type she'd draw out of his shell. But no powerful mage nor mysterious figure showed up, and those daydreams slowly faded as well.

They'd been revived by the need to think about fantasies, the need to dream about getting away from the fighting and war that had become such a daily part of her life.

After Dumbledore's death, Hogwarts had become a Death Eater's school. Nearly four years later, it was only populated by Death Eater students or those who would be Death Eaters. Students such as Ginny, Luna, Neville and others continued their schooling under Mr. Weasley's watchful eye.

And then the war had taken over everything that was left of her semblance to normal life, and for weeks now, fighting was all Ginny could do. It took all of her skill and courage to join the others every morning, knowing what they were setting out to do again. But then Draco had saved her – took a curse meant for her, that in her already curse-ridden state, would have killed her.

Slowly but surely, her fantasies changed to revolve around him and the day this god-forsaken war would be over, the day Harry would return and this could end. Ginny dreamed about it every night, wishing tomorrow would be it. She dreamed about a normal life.

* * *

**Day 11, Dreams**

**Words: 400**

**A/N: This originally was supposed to be light fluff about her "hero" fantasies switching to Draco. (In case it's not clear, Draco is fighting for the Order.) It quickly turned just a touch deeper than I had planned, but here it stands! :P Reviewers are welcomed with big hugs and internet cookies. Much love to my readers :)**


	12. Puzzle

**_"Puzzle"_**

The Death Eater's cackling surrounded her as she was shoved past an opening in the stone wall. She was forced forward and fell, scraping her knees on the sharp gravel.

In front of her, the path didn't go very far before ending in a wall and the path stretched out two opposite directions in a horizontal line. Ginny's heart clenched. It was a maze. She was being tossed into a maze, a labyrinth.

"It's a puzzle," the same Death Eater told her in a smooth, baritone voice. "Find your way through and we'll let you go. Fail…and we'll watch you die, alone, in this maze."

For a minute, his voice reverberated oddly and Ginny thought she might be hearing her fate spoken to her, but then realized it was her head hearing things oddly from shaking her head back and forth, silently screaming no inside her head. She scrambled to her feet, pushing off against the wall and abrading the side of her arm as she did so, but she was too late. The stone door clanged shut ominously, leaving her alone. Light filtered in from somewhere high above, but she could tell by one glance it was fading dangerously fast.

Ginny didn't sleep at all that night. She nearly cried in relief with the first rays of dawn filtered down to her temporary trap. The dawn revived her, and she managed to convince herself she would make it out. And with that pep talk, her Gryffindor courage returned, and she resolved that the first step was to get her arms free.

She set off in a fairly good mood, although it was tempered by the anxiety lurking just beyond her conscious brain's approval and the knowledge that she had to make a fast pace or else. But she wasn't willing to think about the or else. Ginny was relieved when her hands were freed.

But she wasn't quite strong enough to make it on her own. She came across food and drink when she thought she was ready to collapse, and devoured it. But it was poisoned, and when Draco found her, nearly 3 days later, she was wandering around aimlessly, hallucinating. He immediately took her to Snape, inwardly panicking. It took all his strength to nurse her back to health, and he would never forget the grateful look in her eyes when she woke up and saw him.

* * *

**Day 12, Puzzle**

**Words: 400**


	13. Discrepant

_**"Discrepant"**_

"Here," Draco said casually on Monday, coming out of their bedroom, straightening his tie with one hand. Something small and gold lay in his other hand. He leaned over the kitchen table, distracting her by handing her the object while he stole a bite of her bagel. "I found this under the bed by one of my shoes. I nearly stepped on it." After giving her a through kiss, he departed.

Ginny stared at the earring in her hand. It innocently glittered up at her. She smiled and easily rose to put it away. It should have made her wonder why she didn't recognize it. But she didn't.

Wednesday, the owl arrived that Draco would be late, this case was running over and due in front of the Wizengamot tomorrow. Ginny smiled and put dinner back in the oven, settling in with a book and a light plate of snacks until Draco got home. He was appropriately sorry, making himself much available to her that evening. Ginny had a slight flash when he kissed her – he tasted…_different_… - but Ginny figured he'd eaten something funny.

Ah, but how the facts didn't add up, how discrepant they acted. Ginny just shook everything off. She'd known exactly what she was getting into when she fell in love with him. She knew him inside and how, knew intimately how his mind worked, how his body worked, how thoughts processed in his brain. Just because she was pushing the boundaries of their sexual-only relationship by tossing in her heart didn't mean she had to tell him, or bring up his side adventures. She knew when to leave enough alone and when to assert just a touch of pressure on him, to make him remember who was first, who lived with him. It was strange, how easily she dealt with the side trips. They just didn't matter to her, because she knew they didn't matter to him. After a bout, he just let them go, not caring what they wanted. Besides, if he ever got too involved, she always had Harry to threaten him with…

* * *

**Day 13, Discrepant**

**Words: 350**

**A/N: Yes, Ginny is quite OOC here. In fact, I have no answers to provide you with as to why Ginny acts the way she does here, except to wave at the above script... my mind does not know where this came from O.o**


	14. Holiday

_**"Holiday"**_

Ginny slowly packed the last of her bags, blinking away tears as she carefully, oh so carefully, folded a gray cashmere sweater and tucked it in the side. She looked around her bedroom, looking for missed objects. Saw nothing except her childhood bedroom, of course, because she'd been obsessively packing and repacking and repacking again because she'd had nothing else to do and was trying so hard to stay busy.

Every year when she had gone to Hogwarts, her stuff had regularly been reduced to a trunk and her worn but loved backpack and a duffel bag. But as Ginny looked around the room now, her things simply two duffel bags sitting on her bed, she'd never thought her life could be minimized so much. It always felt like she had more things, more belongings, more…of something…when she went off to Hogwarts. Ginny took a deep breath to calm herself, but it seemed like nothing worked these days.

It was part of the reason she needed to take this trip. She needed to get away from the pity stares of old classmates, and the way her family and friends tiptoed around her. She closed her eyes tightly, and she could see him facing down his father…but she'd lost him in the battle, the smoke, the haze of death. And then he'd just…disappeared into thin air. Nothing worked. Tracking charms, which should have worked, became muddled after they'd been cast. Ginny was sick of everything around, tired of trying to hold up. She'd called Charlie, and the whole trip had been arranged.

She walked down slowly. Her mother stood there, one hand on her hip, the other holding a basket of laundry. Some things never changed, she thought wryly.

"You're all ready to go?" Molly set the basket down and began folding. Ginny pitched in. It felt so like her childhood years, except she was taking the time now instead of racing off to the fields.

"Yes, Mum, I'm all packed." Ginny replied.

"Good. Now, I've packed a picnic basket of food to take to your brother's." Her mother said, motioning to the kitchen table, where a rather large basket of food sat. Her mother abruptly stopped, and turned to her only daughter. "Ah, I'm glad you're going away. You need this, darling."

Molly kissed her daughter's forehead. "Bring your things down." She said gently. "It's time for you to go."

* * *

**Day 14, Holiday**

**Words: 400**


	15. Mirror

**_"Mirror"_**

"You may all make yourselves at home," Draco drawled, making a wide gesture with his hands. "Welcome to my most humble abode."

By now, the elder teens had mostly accustomed themselves to Draco's brand of sarcasm, and spread out, lugging things upstairs and exploring bedrooms, not without much bickering over which bedroom was the best pick.

Draco had regained his home after his parent's deaths. As he was currently allied with the Order, he'd been more than open his home to the other teens so he didn't have to live alone. Although they were still 19 and 18, to call them "teens" was rather ridiculous. As for the bedrooms, Draco had easily prepared a room for each teen, even though they would choose their own rooms. It was of great secretive pride when each teen chose the room meant for them, without quite realizing it. It took most of them until dinner to properly settle in, but Draco eventually dropped by each room and let them know dinner was nearly ready. After dinner, Draco set out some ground rules.

"You're free to wander around most of the house. Feel free to settle in, move things, keep things clean..." He smirked while side-glancing at the ladies when he said "clean". "But, the East Wing is off limits," he said firmly. "My father left most of his…belongings…in there. I'm working through the wing, but in the meantime…"

Draco drew their attention to the heavy, padlocked, ornate doors to the East Wing. No one said anything, and for that Draco was grateful.

And yet some people, he thought furiously as he strode towards the main wing of the house, never knew when to keep their noses out of things. He'd left the door unlocked, and then his wards had gone off for this wing.

"Ginevra?" He spluttered. Her soft eyes were all dreamy, and he could tell she hadn't been paying attention to the rooms where she had been wandering.

She looked intently at a mirror hanging on the wall in front of her. Draco suddenly had a very bad feeling of prophetic proportions. Ginny reached out a tentative hand to touch the delicate silver and he leapt forward to pull her hand away

"No, Ginny, don't – " He grabbed her hand just as she touched it, and they were both sucked in, a shimmering liquid vortex forcefully wrapping around both of them.

* * *

**Day 15, Mirror**

**Words: 400**

**A/N: There will definitely be a sequel to this one :)**


	16. Seeking Peace

**_"Seeking Peace"_**

_Some days, Ginny felt as though she was falling apart. For every step of progress she made with herself, she took two steps back._

She was searching for pieces of herself, and trying to fit them into the puzzle, but they wouldn't stay, or they changed shape, or they simply didn't fit. Her pieces kept drifting away from one another, refusing to work together.

She was keeping pieces of herself on the ground, but they kept floating away in the air, like balloons, and she was reduced to jumping and trying to catch them. She was afraid if they floated too far away, she'd lose that piece forever.

She was keeping pieces of herself above the water, trying not to let them sink like iron. But they tilted the boat, or the flotsam she'd put them on, and kept sliding overboard and underneath the murky water. Searching for them was a hard, unrelenting task, with mud and weeds to catch her up on.

She was trying to keep pieces of herself from getting wet, like they were pieces of paper and the sky was pouring down on her. Her umbrella wouldn't open, and her protection of each piece grew thin in places.

She was fighting to keep each piece, to beat intruders off who would steal a piece, would craftily work their way around her defenses. She was holding ground, protecting pieces of herself that refused to be protected.

_Some days, Ginny couldn't hold herself together. Some days, she could pretend she was whole, missing no pieces. On the days in between, she fought an uphill battle to claim ground and a downhill battle to save ground. Most days, she was only seeking herself, hoping that one day, the peace she sought would find her._

_

* * *

_**Day 16, Seeking Peace**

**Words: 295**


	17. Questioning

**_"Questioning"_**

More often than not, Ginny caught herself questioning Draco's character. He appeared to have a nice side, but Ginny wondered, sometimes, if he was only acting nice because he was in the Order's Headquarters, or if he'd really changed. Deep down, she believed in the "acting" part and that he hadn't changed a bit. He'd only changed personalities because his circumstances had changed. She wondered, if his circumstances had veered towards the other side – would he have been a compliant Death Eater, because that's what his circumstances were?

Who he really was terribly confused her, yet she didn't dare to approach him. She was already incredibly guilty for having these thoughts in the first place, when everyone else praised the "new" Draco and thought the world of him now. He helped out with the dishes, comforted Teddy at 2am after a nightmare, and tended Snape's herbs that would be turned into Potion ingredients. But everything he did, he seemed to do specifically for someone else. He never started a project simply because it was something he wanted to do.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and turned back to her duty for the day, laundry. She pulled wet clothes out and piled them in the basket, and then loaded the washer up. Heaving the basket to her hip, she began to climb the long flight of stairs up to the roof to hang the wet clothes out to dry.

"Here, let me take that for you." Draco appeared out of nowhere on the 3rd floor and casually removed the basket from her grip.

"Ah…thanks." She said cautiously. He made easy chatter with her up to the roof, about Buckbeak's health, and Teddy, and what Molly was making for dinner.

He continued to help her hang the clothes up, and then he turned towards the greenhouse.

"Uh, do you want help tending the plants?" She awkwardly offered.

"Oh, if you want to. It would make my time up in this heat much lessened." He told her, and she fought the urge to smirk. He still had that way of talking, that classified his childhood. Not that that was a bad thing, but she still couldn't help but giggle in her mind when she heard words like "lessened" come from his mouth.

He flashed her a quick, helpful smile when she hesitated, and she ducked her head and began watering hastily.

* * *

**Day 17, Questioning**

**Words: 400**


	18. Red

_**"Red" – a "Hope" universe cookie**_

The red curtains fluttered as she stepped through them and out onto the balcony. Her eyes wandered over the grounds of the large farmhouse, sweeping over fields made for horseback riding, a lazy herb garden with no apparent boundaries, and an unadorned pond with a single weeping willow. Ginny gripped the balcony railing and looked up at the night sky, closing her eyes and letting the moonlight wash over her face. When she finally opened her eyes, she felt refreshed, but oddly unsettled.

She took a deep breath before carefully reaching under her sleep shirt and canceling the disillusionment charm wandlessly. A simple necklace flickered into view, a rock threaded through a long leather string. The stone was silvery-white in color, appearing to shimmer in the moonlight, waves rippling just under the surface of the stone. The only time the stone looked anything other than a dull, lifeless rock was in the moonlight, when it leapt to life in shades just somewhere between black and white. Ginny often likened the stone to herself. There was that one person who could make her feel alive as no other had ever done. She wasn't quite sure why she insisted to herself she had to keep the disillusionment charm up 24/7, surely she could show him. but she always backed off before revealing the rock to him. there were too many questions he would ask about it, too many things that she would prefer to keep to herself, to think about in solitude. She wasn't willing to share her memories with anyone, now that they were only memories.

She heard the creak of the bedspring behind her and wordlessly spelled her necklace again, tucking it under her neckline.

"Hey, babe." A sleepy, masculine voice said. He wrapped his strong arms around her, snuggling her from behind. "Come back inside, Gin-bug."

He picked up her hand and kissed it before tugging her back into his bedroom.

Ginny looked back at the moon wistfully, but went inside without a word. She slept a restless sleep. And the man she dreamed of was not the man she slept beside.

* * *

**Day 18, Red**

**Words: 354**

**A/N: So, while this isn't necessarily in the "direct" line up of events in Hope, this cookie is still a "prequel" and really more of a preview of the next drabble. I'm dedicating this to DoubleCarmel for giving me a great idea for Hope universe! :) More prequel drabbles to come! **


	19. Happiness

_**"Happiness" - a Holiday sequel**_

It had been a slow process, but Ginny had learned to be happy here. She still lived on the dragon reservation with Charlie, but she'd graduated to her own set of rooms across from his. She'd moved out after about the 3rd month, deciding he probably needed some space, no matter how much he loved his little sister. It had been a lucky break for her to be able to get a job on the reservation so she could stay instead of having to look for a place in the next town over. And working at a new job, meeting new faces, and discovering new places to shop had brought her out of her shell and interacting normally again.

She had to admit she'd mostly hid out for the first month and a half, but Charlie had finally dragged her out to the local pub with some of the other dragon keepers, both men and women, and she'd ended up having a great time. In fact, one of Charlie's co-workers, Alexis, was one of her best friends here now. Although a woman had to be tough to work this job, and man, was the 5 foot 7 inches Alexis ever tough, she still managed to stay feminine. Under the dragon hide gloves and steel-toed work boots lay exotically painted nails, and Alexis was always willing to shop with Ginny. They giggled over some of the well-built dragon keepers, and Alexis could even make Ginny comfortable with the fact that she had the major hots for Charlie.

So yes, she could call herself happy….but in the long run, she wasn't sure if she would be satisfied to stay here. She could easily see herself taking another trip, seeing another culture. Suddenly, she just wasn't comfortable here anymore, and that grew and manifested in power as the days continued to speed by. Before she knew it, she'd been here almost a year, and had begun to hate it. So she packed up her bags again, and knocked on Charlie's door to say bye.

When Alexis was the one to answer, Ginny could only giggle. "I hope to see more of you in the future," She told Alexis, casually kissing her on the cheek and giving her brother a big hug. "See you in 6 months or so for Christmas!"

She was ready for a new adventure, someplace to keep forgetting Draco.

* * *

**Day 19, Happiness**

**Words: 399**


	20. Family

**_"Family"_**

Wasn't it funny how different their worlds were, because of their families?

Draco, an only child, was so close to his parents. He'd known from birth that he was the only heir, set to inherit whatever his parents had made in life. After graduating from Hogwarts, his father had immersed him in Malfoy Enterprises, and he'd willingly learned everything his father had to show him. Now, almost four years later, he was vice-president of the major Malfoy Enterprise departments, and he traveled out of the country at least every other week.

But Ginny, surrounded by family, had spent the better part of nearly two years helping her family out after the war – holding things together for her parents, staying close to home to reassure her family, helping George out in the shop. It had taken her nearly a year to realize that wasn't what she wanted to do for the rest of her life, that she was entitled to her own opinions and didn't have to let them be trampled over. When she first expressed an intention to make her own path, she'd slowly been buried in family influence until she struggled to keep her own opinions instead of letting them get swept away in the tide of redheads, determined to help her make the "right" choice. Especially when the choices weren't ones she was ready to make yet – a path for further schooling, what career they thought she should chose, the right marriage, a family of her own. She wasn't ready for anything they were trying to force upon her. It had taken nearly all her strength to feel like she finally had her head above the surface again instead of being overwhelmed by the littlest things her family wanted from her.

She could easily admit what she'd done. Which had been to pack up her belongings in the middle of the night and go to Hermione's until she'd decided on a good college. So she'd made the move to a good-sized Wizardry college in Ireland, studying Psychology.

It was strange, how she'd collided with Draco here. She wasn't quite sure how he'd been suckered into going to college, but he was here to study business.

Wasn't it funny, how different their worlds could be, yet how closely they could revolve?

* * *

**Day 20, Family**

**Words: 382**


	21. Divorce

_**"Divorce"**_

"What?" Ginny nearly screeched.

"You heard me." Draco said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. He sat down woodenly on the bottom stair of their home, his posture ram-rod straight as it always was.

"No." She said, shaking her head rapidly. "No, this can't be." She could see the pain hidden just behind his eyes, deep enough that you had to know where to look for it before seeing it. Ginny knew that he, too, was struggling to accept the disbelief of his parent's impending divorce.

"I don't know what else to say about it." He clenched his teeth. "They fight so much they're better off apart." The words were spoken with a nasty edge.

Ginny just watched him, her heart torn up by his refusal to show the pain he was feeling. She sat down on the stair above him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and letting him lean back in her arms. "It'll be ok." She told him softly.

And she held him for the rest of the night as he sat there, staring straight forward in stony, pain-filled silence and thought about things. He came out of his self-induced mediation as the sun began to slowly rise and cast the grey stone in a orange tinge.

He gently wrapped his arms around Ginny and picked her up. At some point during the night, she'd slipped down to his stair and laid her head in his lap, but she hadn't left him to go sleep more comfortably in their bedroom. He carried her up the stairs, keeping his motions gentle as to not awake his wife.

Draco tucked her in before dressing for work and preparing for a day of pretending nothing at all was wrong. He took a deep breath before walking down the stairs, not pausing when he reached the bottom before he Apparated away, hoping desperately the black maelstrom of Apparating would take away his pain even as he reappeared in his office lobby.

* * *

**Day 21, Divorce**

**Words: 330**


	22. Flying

_**"Flying"**_

She haunted his dreams tonight as she always had. A beautiful woman, her hair nearly sparkling in the light from the meadow. Her wings, which swept out beside her, keeping her just above the sweeping grasses. And he stood, at the edge, not allowed to enter, but only allowed to watch her.

Like always, he sunk to his knees, pounded his fists against the bubble that kept her inside the meadow and him outside, never able to reach her.

Neither of them spoke a single word. He could feel the dream ending, could feel her soul being slowly pulled away from him yet again. He reached out soundlessly again, wordlessly begging her to stay, pleading with her not leave him alone, in the dark without her light. But she shook her head.

No, she was not allowed to stay. She was only allowed to visit, to watch, to show him how much she wished she could come out of the bubble.

And then it was time. She lifted her eyes skyward, and light enveloped her, so bright Draco bowed his head in the silent agony of acceptance. When the light faded, the meadow was dull and plain, the sparkling grasses and wildflowers that had bloomed with her presence now turned to ugly, twisted weeds, stalks that would never flourish. The trees lining the meadow were now gnarled and diseased, a far cry from their previous beauty, from standing proudly to reach the sky and sunlight.

Everything was worse with her absence.

He woke up with tears on his cheeks, to the rain pounding on his bedroom window, as it had every morning since her death.

* * *

**Day 22, Flying**

**Words: 275**


	23. Drowning

_**"Drowning**_"

This had been an insane idea, Ginny decided as she desperately reached out for Malfoy's hand. Before she could grab it, a swell crashing over her head sent her under and prevented her from reaching safety.

"Ginny!" Draco bellowed, treading water and staring at the place she'd gone under. He dove under, but couldn't see her anywhere. The rope tying him to the boat jerked sharply at his waist and he pulled back to the surface. He swore at his incapability to swim out farther in search of her.

Finally, she surfaced, farther away than when she had gone under. She was flailing, trying to keep above the next wave. Draco took a deep breath, preparing to commit what he was already thinking of a vital yet incredibly stupid act. He unhooked himself from the rope. Holding the floatation device from the boat, he pulled himself through the water towards Ginny. It seemed like an eternity before Draco finally reached her.

Ginny was incredibly out of it by the time he got to her nearly limp body. He at least could stay above the water due to his life jacket and lifeguard's float. He hauled her over the float and made sure it was attached to him before he began working his way back towards the boat. When Draco was finally back within the rope's reach, Harry was in the water waiting for him. He helped lug both Ginny and the now-exhausted Draco back onto the boat.

"That's _it,_" Ginny announced when she was properly recovered the next day. "We are leaving this boat, going back to England, and doing something sensible instead of this insane 'victory lap'."

Harry and Ron were the only two of out of the 6 teens who looked disappointed. Hermione, Luna, and Draco all agreed with Ginny in light of her falling overboard during a particularly turbulent storm in which she'd lost her balance. They'd originally gone on the sailing trip up and down the European coast as a sort of victory lap for finally defeating Voldemort.

"Well, can we at least go to the Western States?" Harry wanted to know. He and Ron immediately began discussing ideas, looking excited for the new idea instead of their previous disappointment.

Ginny suddenly had a very foreboding feeling.

* * *

**Day 23, Drowning**

**Words: 381**

**A/N: The last two paragraphs were the most fun to write...if I can come up with some cute ideas, there may be a sequel in the works ;)**


	24. Bed

_**"Bed"**_

Ginny grinned evilly. Oh, she would enjoy this. She checked her watch one last time and watched in satisfaction as it officially showed 7:01am. Quite a reasonable time to wake up in the morning, although she was certain Draco wouldn't find it nearly as amusing as she was bound to. She rapped sharply on the door, waited 30 seconds, and knocked again. Oh, but her stubbornness and persistence would come in handy with this particular case she had been assigned.

Draco stuffed the pillow over his head, but after 5 solid minutes, he resigned himself to the fact that whoever was at the door, they were apparently not going away. Muttering unflattering things, he hauled himself out of bed and dragged a shirt on to match his lounge bottoms.

When Draco finally opened the door, Ginny smirked. "Good morning, Malfoy," She said, much too brightly in Draco's opinion. "My, but don't we look deliciously rumpled this morning?"

Without waiting for a response – or an invitation to step inside – she breezed past Draco into his flat. For lack of anything better to do, Draco slowly closed the door and turned to see Weasley making herself at home in his kitchen.

"Breakfast?" She called out. "Looks like you have eggs, toast, and bacon, in case you were interested."

His mouth couldn't seem to make a formulated response this early. So he resorted to the measures he knew how to use. Draco scowled at the redhead and stormed past her to the coffeepot, which, to his astonishment, was already running.

After two full cups of black coffee, he finally felt as though he was actually awake, although why he was awake was a different story entirely. "Alright," he finally said. "Do bother to explain."

"Of course," She said, turning around with a dazzling smile. "I'm your new social secretary. Or, as my company likes to title me, your Life Organizer."

He could only stare at her in disbelief, so she pulled the papers out of her bag, as she had been instructed. "These are for you. I haven't read them, but they're from my client to you and are supposed to explain everything."

After seeing the signature at the bottom, he was in disbelief. Looking up at Ginny, he demanded, "My mother hired you to direct my social life with the intent of finding me a wife?"

Ginny could only laugh in response.

* * *

**Day 24, Bed**

**Words: 400**

**A/N: Bwahaha. This was great fun to write ^_^**


	25. Balloon

**_"Balloon"_**

"This is ridiculous," Draco grumbled, stringing balloons along the top of the door and cascading over the sides in long strands. They fluttered in the breeze coming through the open door of their apartment.

Ginny hauled in another box of gifts sent from various acquaintances. "No it's not silly, love," She said, giving him a good kiss. "Darien loves balloons! He'll love that you spent all this time stringing them up to amuse him."

Draco gave her a dry stare. "Ginny, he's 3. He will have no idea how long it took me to string up all these balloons."

"Aw, come on," She cajoled him. "You're close to finishing now, and it's almost time for Hermione and Harry to bring Darien back, and both of our parents are due to arrive any minute.

He continued to grumble under his breath, but completed his task and wiped sweat off his brow. "All done, Gin, give Hermione and Harry the go-ahead to bring him over." He called into the next room.

Darien squealed when he saw all the balloons, and immediately began racing around the room from balloon strand to balloon strand.

"Isn't he adorable?" Hermione gushed. "He has no idea where to go next with all these balloons in the room!"

Draco stalked back into the room, sipping on a Crown and coke. After all the work and hype of his son's 3rd birthday, it was a well deserved drink.

Suddenly, Darien slipped and fell down on a balloon, popping it under his tiny body. Invariably, screaming followed. Draco put a hand to his forehead and slipped back into the kitchen for another drink. Darien finally calmed down enough to view his presents, but he kept getting distracted by the fluttering of the balloons, which nearly had him in tears again. Draco could feel the beginnings of a migraine, and hoped this…fear…of the balloons wouldn't cross over into his son's older years.

* * *

15-year-old Darien tugged his girlfriend, Lily away from the clown with the balloons, heading the other way at the festival.

She resisted, protesting. "But I want a balloon animal!"

For some reason he didn't quite understand, the thought of balloons made him incredibly uneasy. "I'm staying way over here, then…" He said nervously. He had a vague recollection, but dismissed it as silliness. All the same, there was no way he was going near that balloon stand.

* * *

**Day 25, Balloon**

**Words: 399**

**A/N: Let's chalk this one up to my sleep deprived mind. Wow. No idea where this came from, LOL.**


	26. Compressed

**_"Compressed"_**

He walked into the Great Hall, and Ginny's eyes locked on him like she couldn't possibly tear her eyes away from him. She couldn't understand her reaction, never had, but she was undeniably attracted to him in a way that was almost certainly unhealthy for her.

"…nny? Ginny? Hello?" Hermione's voice jarred into her thoughts, broke her out of her reverie of Draco Malfoy. "Are you alright? You're not eating…" Hermione's voice trailed off uncertainly.

Ginny blinked a few times, and then obligingly picked up her fork and began eating her eggs. She smiled at Hermione to show she was just fine, but Hermione only worriedly frowned at her and Ginny looked away with a sigh. Absently, Ginny found herself studying Draco again, mapping out the contours of his figure at the Slytherin dining table.

It was the way he made her feel – that unsettled yet oddly elated at the same time at the very sight of him. Ginny savored the fluttering of her heart, so fast that sometimes she thought it would sprout wings. Her heart squeezed, wrapped around itself, compressed in ways that made her heart jump and she almost laughed from the feeling. She went through her day in a daze, only thinking of the next time she would see him. it was even hard to concentrate on Quidditch games anymore, and she was nearly heartbroken he was Seeker, because she didn't see much of him from her high-speed Chaser position.

She watched for him every morning, saw him leave the Quidditch pitch every night. Ginny barely took note of the whispers that sprung up behind her when she passed in the hallway, but sometimes they fluttered back to her, murmurs of her name, usually with "poor" in front of it and love-struck behind it, but she dismissed them as quickly as they had reached her.

Someday, she was sure, he would feel the same way about her. She would be his world someday, as he was hers. So she was content with looking. Everything would follow soon, she was certain.

Draco sneered at her as he passed her in the hallway, his cronies two steps behind. "Get out of my way, _Weasley_."

* * *

**Day 26, Compressed**

**Words: 366**

**A/N: O.o CreepilyObsessed!Ginny. Enjoy.**


	27. Reinvigorated

**_"Reinvigorated"_**

Consciousness returned slowly, as if she was awakening from a deep sleep that had lasted for years. Her eyes, once they had blearily blinked open, took in her surroundings. She was lying upon a four poster bed, with colorful curtains surrounding it, in what looked to be a strangely circular room with small, rectangular windows.

"Hi." He said quietly, leaning over her and brushing her long hair out of her face.

She shoved herself to a sitting position hastily, staring at Draco. "…what happened?" She asked slowly, almost as if she didn't want to know.

"Me," he said, not meeting her eyes. "I – Ginny, you were so determined to fight, to keep everyone safe. I…I'm sorry. I couldn't let you. I cursed you to keep you safe. You would stay asleep here until I came back for you."

"Is it all over?" She asked, wrapping her arms around her knees and staring at him intently.

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me about it?"

"No."

"What are we going to do now?"

"Leave. And never come back. We're going on an adventure. Somewhere new. Together. Ginny….it's been years since I left you here." He admitted.

She was silent for a long moment. Getting up, she walked past him to one of the windows and looked out. Beyond her narrow tower, a forest stretched out beyond her eyesight, and vines dropped away from her tower. There was no path that her eyes could detect.

"How do we get out of here?"

He twirled his wand in his hand.

"Do you have mine?"

"No. We'll get you a new one wherever we go next. It's an adventure, Ginny. Are you ready?"

She turned away from the window, suddenly claustrophobic in her tower. "Yes."

* * *

**Day 27, Reinvigorated**

**Words: 291**


	28. Spilt Milk

_**"Split Milk"**_

Draco lightly smirked as he aimed his wand at Ginny under the Slytherin table and cast a Tripping Jinx. As she approached her own table, the jinx hit her and she went sprawling forward, upsetting the milk jug into Neville's cereal. Flustered, with her front drenched in milk, she whirled around. Draco pretended to be laughing at something Pansy was blathering on about, while his glittering eyes met Ginny's. Her eyes narrowed in response.

This was only the latest in Draco's new campaign against Ginny, which was never to face her down directly, as she had begun to make him nervous. As part of his new campaign, all his tricks were sneaky and cunning, as a proper snake should be. It was a Gryffindor who made impulse decisions, did things to make their opponent off balance. But what Draco didn't know is that Ginny was in progress on her own revenge plans, as she'd had quite enough of Draco's little tricks. The vicious grin she shot at Draco made his eyes widen. Hastily, he averted his eyes.

Ginny had a very satisfied look on her face as she cast the last spell, tying all her previous spells together with a handy mobility charm. And just in time, she thought as she heard his footsteps as Draco followed his prefect route.

His foot hit the first spelled tile and Ginny couldn't resist a giggle when she heard him yelp. He was drawn along the levitation spells, until he was in front of her, arms and legs securely bound by the binding spell he'd hit along the way.

"Weasley, what is this madness?" he demanded, making attempts to break free, to no avail.

"My revenge," She answered sweetly. "Since confrontations seem to no longer be your style, I thought I'd kindly arrange one for us."

His eyes narrowed. She tapped a finger on her lips, and his eyes were invariably drawn to study said pair of lips. "Now, what am I to do with you?"

She circled him, running a finger along his cheek, his neck. Finally, she leaned in to kiss him. Later, he couldn't remember when the binding spell had worn off, only that it had allowed him to shove her up against the wall for better access to her lips. He couldn't say he minded her trickery at the end of the day.

* * *

**Day 28, Spilt Milk**

**Words: 394**


	29. Contempt

_**"Contempt"**_

"Have her brought in," he said carelessly, with an idle wave of his hand.

His men bowed. "Immediately, my Lord."

She was led in, being forcibly dragged along. Her arms were harshly bound behind her back, and she bore marks of struggling across her upper arms and face where her captors had physically restrained her from escaping and doing worse harm to her. Her hair was matted and dirty, giving her the appearance of being crazy. The clothes on her body were ripped and torn from brambles and woods where she'd been captured and had multiple escape attempts and from spells they'd shot at her.

Voldemort sighed as she was dragged to the foot of his grand chair and made to kneel before him. "You have damaged her," He said in chilling tones.

"My Lord, she's a wildcat! She's mad! We were hard pressed to restrain her!" One protested his Lord's harshness.

He fell silent as Voldemort turned vicious red eyes upon him. "You idiot!" He thundered. "You have magic, or have you forgotten you are a wizard? Surely you could have managed to bind such an inexperienced girl without harming her!"

Voldemort cast Crucio, among other harming spells, until he felt like they had sufficiently paid for their mistakes. He looked behind him and summoned a woman forwards.

"Take her. Heal her wounds, bathe her. Only bring her before me again when she is appropriately tended and dressed."

Narcissa bowed her head and, sending a scathing look at the Death Eater men, Silenced the girl as a precaution and bound her with magical ropes. She then levitated her and began to take her out of the room.

As Ginny was levitated up, she raised her head before the magic whisked her away. Voldemort saw the fiery look in her eyes. This one had not yet given up her fighting spirit. Oh, she would be a treat to tame, a treat indeed.

* * *

**Day 29, Contempt**

**Words: 321**


	30. Acceptance

_**"Acceptance" - a sequel to "Doorway"**_

It was strange how quickly he'd fit in here, Draco decided. It was almost like there had been a gap specifically for him, as if fate had decided it needed him here. He carefully stirred the potion and set a time alarm for 3 minutes to let it simmer.

They hadn't had anyone to make potions for them before, but Draco filled that spot easily. Neville grew most of the plants he needed, and while other could make mediocre potions, they couldn't contribute the expertise Draco had of both his father and Snape's instructions. On the two make-shift practice Quidditch teams, they'd only had one Seeker, and everyone else had drawn straws to see who would be the other one since no one wanted to compete against Harry. Now, Draco willingly competed for fun, and they even had just Seeker's Games sometimes when they were bored but couldn't get the whole group together for a pick-up game.

At first, he'd been expecting to be treated with distain, even some outright hostility, but apparently nothing in this house was as he'd thought. Fitting in hadn't been as hard as he'd expected, either. When they'd put him in a room with Harry Potter, both of them had walked on eggshells for days, until he'd slowly relaxed around them. It was still hard for him to let his guard down, but he was adjusting.

They'd accepted him – what more could he need at this time?

* * *

**Day 30, Acceptance**

**Words: 242**

**A/N: I'm not really sure I like the way this one came out - I like the idea of it, but I'm not sure everything I wanted to say came across in the story.**


	31. City

**_"City"_**

The Auror looked at her closely. "You realize that once you Apparate to these coordinates, you can't Apparate back out? You'll be stuck in the city with the rest of them."

Ginny nodded her head slowly. "I understand," she said, dropping her gaze to the bags at her feet, filled to the brim with supplies. "But…there are people in need of medical aid in there. I have to go."

"The city's closed off," he tried again.

She sent him a scathing look. "They're only keeping people _out_ of the city." She snapped. "I'm going in to help people, I think that's reason enough."

Malfoy gave her a slow, burning gaze that Ginny wasn't quite sure what to make of. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket containing the coordinates of the Apparation point into the quarantined city and handed it to her. She took them and thanked him.

When Ginny began to move forward past Malfoy, he leaned down, kissed her on the forehead, and simply said, "Stay safe." She smiled at him, a brilliant smile that etched itself onto his brain, and then she stepped forward and was gone.

Ginny carefully looked around after arriving. There was no one around to welcome her, but with the plague within the city she currently resided in for the unforeseeable future, she hadn't expected anyone. She picked up her bags and began to make her way through the streets, headed for the center of the town, hoping to find a medical station or set up so that she could see what had been done to help the plague patients and begin to aid others. The town park, in the very heart of the town, was indeed congregated. Ginny flinched away from the sounds emitting from the park before steeling herself. She saw other upright, healthy figures moving around, and so began to approach.

A woman looked up as she approached the center, where all the supplies were obviously kept. "Hello?" She said cautiously.

"Hi." Ginny said. "I'm Healer Ginny. I've come to help."

"Finally, help." The woman looked teary.

Before the woman got any ideas, Ginny hastened to tell her, "It's only me, I'm the only one who came through."

The woman wasn't fazed at all. "Thank you for your bravery, for coming to help us."

It would be years before Draco would see Healer Ginny again.

* * *

**Day 31, City**

**Words: 398**


	32. Blue

_**"Blue"**_

"Remus would love for you to visit him, Draco." Ginny urged him.

Draco swallowed hard. He knew Lupin was only in a room upstairs, only a floor away, but he didn't know if he could do it. How could he visit the man, who was in that room only because his father had decided to torture someone and that someone had been Lupin? It was hard for him to accept the shame of his family hurting one of his friends.

"I…" he muttered, not meeting her eyes.

She was rambling on again, about Lupin's current condition and how it wasn't his fault. Draco suddenly felt overwhelmed, his ears ringing from her words, and her words seemed to come to him from a great distance away.

He took two steps back slowly, and then fled, taking the steps 3 at a time, not quite sure where he was going.

"Draco, come back! You…" Ginny called after him, but he ignored her and let her voice fade behind him. He kept going until he hit the top of the stairs, which ended in a black door with a golden knob. He reached out and pulled the door open with no caution at all, banging it against the wall before slamming it closed behind him.

The door opened up onto the flat-topped roof of Grimwald Place. He slowly stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him. In place of a flat roof, there was grass, magically aided. Plants lined walkways, which winded through the rooftop to a greenhouse. He sat underneath the shade of a large oak tree and took a minute to stare up at the sky. It was still weird to see, and harder to comprehend the sky. He could barely remember a blue sky. Ever since Voldemort had begun his tyranny for real, every murder and mayhem scene he committed only seemed to produce more change from the sky. The clouds, which were ever present, were light gray directly above, darkening as they reached the horizon. Along the horizon, as far as he could see, was tinged with a very ominous red, which seemed to only creep upwards along the sky line farther each day. Slowly, he forced himself to look away and pay attention to something else.

Draco found the place he'd left off weeding yesterday and knelt down, systematically clearing choked plants and ignoring his problems again.

* * *

**Day 32, Blue**

**Words: 400**


	33. Hear No Evil

**_"Hear No Evil"_**

"That's enough!" Ginny cried out. "Stop! I don't want to hear any more." She struggled to keep tears behind her eyes.

Draco smirked from his position in front of her jail cell. "Oh?" He taunted. "But you haven't heard about Luna yet."

"Nooo," Ginny moaned, turning away from him.

"Tortured relentlessly for an entire day," he continued telling her what exactly was happening to all of her family and friends who had been captured along with her in the final headquarters when it fell.

"Oh, but we found everyone." He gave a short laugh at that. "But Harry Potter. Such a treat to receive such a nice prize from the last headquarters the "Order" will ever have."

"No!" She screamed, turning back to him. "We'll get out of here! You won't be able to keep us all! We'll get free somehow, save each other, we'll be free someday! You'll never be able to keep us in society! You'll have to kill us all in order to keep us suppressed! The Order will always live!" She threw herself against the bars, as if she could merely break them with her weight and no magical power.

"If only you'd grown up as the pureblood royalty child that you are," Draco said softly. "Don't you want to be a proper princess?" He reached past her and lifted a lock of her hair. She was too stunned, too drawn in his words to fight him. "You have such lovely hair, Ginevra. Yes, you could go far, be stunning, have such an impact on wizarding society if you chose. Think about it, darling. A pureblood prince for your husband, one who was powerful enough to provide you with everything you ever wanted. Someone to dress your fantastic hair, make you spectacular clothes, tend to your every wish. A doting husband who believes in the same things you do. Children would come, naturally, even more royalty that you could raise in your faith."

His eyes were almost tender, drawing her in, making her believe she could have this. Then his finger slipped along her cheek, and she was thrown out of the trance by the touch. Horrified beyond words, she shook her head emphatically.

"That's too bad," Draco said softly. "You're the last one left, by the way. The others are all dead, refused just as you did. You lasted the longest."

He raised his wand.

* * *

**Day 33, Hear No Evil**

**Words: 400**


	34. Heartless

**_"Heartless"_**

"Just go." Ginny said wearily as she turned away. "We can't do this."

He took her shoulders, spun her around to face him. "You said we'd be together! You're mine," he asserted strongly.

She pulled away from him, her eyes narrowing in anger. "No." She said, her eyes betraying the confusion and emotion she felt about him. "I can't do this! I'm not yours to command! You think you own me, but I can't live like that. I'm asking you to leave now, before I make you." She pulled away from him violently, her shaking hand raising her wand to point at him, even though the tip did waver.

"Ginny, darling…" he said in a coaxing voice, one he mistakenly thought would

"Some time, Ginny, just give it some time." He said, looking into her beautiful brown eyes. "It's only been 4 days, please, Ginny, you're mine, you said you would be."

"Just go." She repeated.

He grew angry. "Everyone says, they say I'm the heartless one, the one who manipulates and turns people against others – it's not me! You're the one throwing me away, pushing me into a place where I don't have you to light up my world." He began quietly, but was shouting towards the end of it. "You're the heartless one! You're throwing away my heart."

"You knew this could happen! I said no promises, we'd take this day by day!" Ginny retorted.

"I may leave now, but you'll always know who you belong to," he said ominously, and Ginny felt a shiver go up her spine, but she raised her wand more threateningly and he backed up a step.

Then he turned away, walking out, leaving her with the emotion swirling around her chest, threatening to overwhelm her as she was left, ever stuck in the middle of the two spectrums, dark and light, sinister or charming, paranoid or reality, elated or despair. Whatever she felt, whatever they felt, she was caught in between, swept up on the rising tide of either emotion, only to crash down on the other side.

* * *

**Day 34, Heartless**

**Words: 346**

**A/N: This is an edited version to catch a few typos I noticed :)**


	35. Light

**_"Light"_**

Ginny snuggled in closer to the blankets as she slowly, slowly began to awake. The soft light coming in through the curtains was just enough to tinge the room in pastels. When she heard movement from the other side of the bed, she realized she wasn't the only one awake, and with that came a tinge of disappointment.

_It's morning  
I open my mouth  
You'll stay forever, right?  
Can't articulate what I want._

He'd put his slacks from last night back on, black dress pants. Still bare-chested, he ran a comb through his blonde hair and padded from the room. She heard the washroom noises, and then he returned. Ginny sat up and smiled at him, holding the blanket to her chest almost bashfully. She nearly blushed when he gave her a second look over.

_Don't say a word.  
Just stare into your eyes  
A word would break the bubble  
A word would destroy the silence._

He tugged his shoes on, pulled his gray shirt on and carefully buttoned it up and rolled up the cuffs casually. By now, Ginny had tugged on a shirt, her favorite shirt to sleep in because of it's softness. She approached him from behind, watching from the mirror in front of him as he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. Ginny tilted her head thoughtfully as he turned around, but he just looked at her and moved around her.

_Raise your hand behind him as he walks out.  
Wish he wouldn't go, the words stick in your mouth.  
A word might make him stay.  
A word might ruin what remains._

_

* * *

_**Day 35, Light**

**Words: 267**


	36. Obvious

**_"Obvious"_**

Hermione stared at Ginny disbelievingly. "You and _who_ are_ what_?" She demanded angrily.  
"I don't believe you! How could…" She shook her head, upset.

"I just…" Ginny trailed off for a moment. "He's not the same!" She snapped back.

"I don't know how you could have ever thought I'd be ok with this!" Hermione's eyes filled, and she swiped a hand over her face. "All the times he's been horrid to me, wouldn't leave me or my heritage alone."

"He's different!" She defended. "Maybe you don't believe in second chances, maybe you don't believe in people changing, but I do! You've poisoned everyone around you with false words, and you don't even stop to think about what trash he was fed by his father!"

"I know he believes them, I know he _enjoyed_ tormenting us!" Hermione cried to Ginny. "You don't think he still does? He only would put up with us because of _you_! He doesn't really care if he's nice to us but he would care about what you think, about how best to keep you!"

"He wants to _change_!" Ginny screamed back. "He's not a fucking Death Eater! He's turned away from that!"

"But he won't help _us_." Hermione accused.

Ginny shook her head frantically. "He's neutral, he's afraid, can't you see how hard this is even is for him?" She pleaded.

"All I can see is you betraying us." Hermione said coldly. "I'm sorry."

Hermione crossed the room and then sprinted for the stairs, her footsteps clattering loudly against the wooden steps as she descended rapidly.

Ginny could just make out her voice.

"Malfoy has put Ginny under some spell, she won't stop talking about him, she's betraying us, please help!"

With tears in her eyes, Ginny Disapparated. To Draco's side, where she always has belonged. She knows that she has saved him from the dark side, and that is what matters to her. If she must leave her family, her friends in order to keep him from returning, then that is what she shall sacrifice.

* * *

**Day 36, Obvious**

**Words: 340**

**A/N: Edited re-write.**


	37. Archaic

**_"Archaic"_**

"This is…archaic." Ginny repressed the urge to outwardly laugh at Draco's set up in Malfoy Manor's basement.

He'd drawn out a pentagram with runes in it on the floor, elaborate chalk lines infused with magic to make them stable. It was hard for her to decipher the runes, but as far as she could tell it was mostly runes promising magic if they performed certain acts together in the circle.

"We both need the additional magic to fight for the Order," he told her in his low voice, and drew her in towards him slowly, pulling her body flush against his. She felt like she was falling into the sound of his voice, letting herself float away on his words.

She barely noticed when he led her into the circle, so caught up in him that nothing else mattered. At that moment, he was her everything, her entire conscious world. His touches were like nothing she'd ever felt, whirling her into feelings she'd never known. He laid her down gently on the floor, on the stone, but she didn't feel it on her back. The ritual enacted as he began, and exploded blue light around them as he reached the ending with her.

Afterwards, she barely noticed anything, surrounded in a blue haze of light, dizzy and giggling like she was drunk. But it was on power.

"We're a team now," Draco told her, throwing his head back and twirling her in a circle around him. "It's you and me, me and you, and we can do whatever we want."

Ginny felt confused for a second, like she was being pulled away from her current mindstate to remember what she really wanted, to use her power for the Order, but the thought was sucked away in her mind and she promptly forgot and smiled brilliantly back at Draco.

* * *

**Day 37, Archaic**

**Words: 308**


	38. Home

**_"Home"_**

It was supposed to be everything she wanted, Ginny thought sadly as she looked around the foyer. She shook her head and walked back up the stairs, back to the master bedroom for another load to bring down. She never thought she'd end up in this big home, trying to manage a household she barely knew anything about or cared about at the beginning.

But originially, it was only going to be for a short time they were living here, Draco told her, and she believed him. They were going to get their own small home, something more suited to them, to their characters. She never imagined Draco would fall in love with his childhood home; she never guessed that he would become so attached to belongings and the sense of the home that welcomed him but overwhelmed her. She had never felt as though she belonged here.

Narcissa still treated her as an outsider, acting surprised and miffed every time she ran into Ginny in the Manor, as though she didn't understand why Ginny was living here with her son. Her haughtiness upset Ginny. They made Ginny strive to avoid Narcissa at all costs, because upsetting her husband's wife with her mere presence was simply not worth the drama it would bring to Ginny. If she did upset Narcissa by asserting her right to be in the Manor as well, Draco would surely hear about it since he was so close to his mother and thus they would both be against her in the end.

Ginny simply couldn't exist in this Manor one more day without Draco to help her find her place in this stuffy household. Narcissa had turning running the household over to Ginny without any instruction or help and then sat back and watched her make a mess of it day after day. Draco was involved in whatever his business entailed, which she had no idea. He left before she woke up and came home far after she and Narcissa had finished a dinner with stilted conversation prepared by house elves who typically forgot what they'd wanted for dinner in the first place. Ginny still hadn't gotten the hang of properly commanding the house elves.

She whirled around as the front door opened. Today _would_ be the one day Draco got home early. For a long moment, they stared at each other over her packed-up belongings.

* * *

**Day 38, Home**

**Words: 400**


	39. Fun And Games

_**"Fun And Games"**_

"Life's just fun and games," Ginny said breezily, brushing past him and reaching for the door. He laughed, taking her hand and following her out, but he couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that statement.

As always, what she said fit into their conversation perfectly, but he always felt like there were undertones, as if she was always making some comment that could be taken with deeper meaning. Was being with him fun and games? Did she consider their relationship a game? He could never tell with her. From the minute he'd met her and been just a touch manipulated by her, her manner had intrigued him. Now he felt as though he had been dragged into a game against his will, playing with unknown stakes to keep his hand in the game. It took all his subtlety to stay on increasing levels with her, as she took their game to newer and higher levels every day.

* * *

**Day 39, Fun and Games**

**Words: 159**


	40. Clothes

_**"Clothes", a prequel to "Hear No Evil"**_

_"It's time to go, so put all your clothes on_

_ I've got the keys, baby you're so gone_

_ It's time to go, so put on all your clothes_

_ We're running late and we both know" - The Maine_

Ginny twirled in front of the mirror, and her emerald dress obligingly spun out with a flair that looked becoming on her. Narcissa had done her hair in a pureblood princess fashion, her makeup had been beautifully applied, and the jewelry lent to her for the evening was stunning. All that was missing was her handsome, pureblood husband. Ginny raised her gloved hands above her head and performed another slow turn for the mirror and then began gliding towards the door, sending one last glance at the mirror over her bare shoulders as she departed the bedroom.

There was nothing she could say about her absentee husband, but she knew he would be back before the end of the evening. She descended the stairs and swept a glass of champagne of a passing server. Immediately, she was approached by several old friends and she was more than happy to make conversation with them. It was a perfect evening, Ginny thought happily to herself. She was living in her husband's spectacular manor, wearing beautiful clothes, and enjoying pleasant company.

Ginny lurched awake, heart pounding. That wasn't like her. That wasn't like her at all. It hadn't been her mind in control, Ginny couldn't help but notice to herself. It wouldn't be until years later that she would just barely remember this dream as Draco spoke sweetly to her about an offer only he could make and she stared at the end of his wand.

* * *

**Day 40, Clothes **

**Words: 278**


	41. Servant

**_"Servant"_**

"Don't be silly," Ginny scoffed at Katie, rummaging in the fridge to find eggs. "It's not like I'm George's servant. He just needs some help right now. You of all the people should understand that."

Katie just looked at her dubiously. "Gin, you're practically living here now," she said gently. "It's 5 months after F…after R…after the war." She corrected quickly.

Ginny cracked eggs into the sizzling pan deftly, adding tomatoes, onions, and black olives as omelet ingredients before resuming her conversation with Katie. "It's just… it's hard for him to be alone, I don't function well alone now either, so this works out well for both of us. We're just waiting until something better comes along for either of us, but we're not looking for any sort of change right now."

Silently, to Ginny's back, Katie shook her head. Weasley solidarity was really something to behold at times, and sometimes Weasleys were impossible to be separated. After both Ron and Fred had died in the war, it was obvious that Ginny and George felt as though their "Weasley pair" was broken and had turned to each other for comfort in family. Since then, Ginny had moved into the flat above the shop to live with George, and for them, it worked out pretty well. But Katie had other ideas. She knew George liked her, and she was ready to make a move, but it was next to impossible with his little sister living in his apartment.

Thus, her new goal was to convince Ginny that George needed space and she should move out, leaving the way open for Katie to slide into a spot unoccupied by his youngest sibling. It would work, she was confident. As Ginny turned around, a smile on her face, Katie smiled back and subtly went back to her goals, which ended in living happily ever after.

* * *

**Day 41, Servant**

**Words: 312**


	42. Roots

_**"Roots"**_

She padded along the Slytherin corridor, keeping a wary eye out, but not quite wary enough. When a strong arm reached out behind her and dragged her behind a tapestry, she was completely unprepared.

"Look at this," a masculine voice drawled. She inwardly shivered. His voice never failed to make her insides give a pleasant shudder. "A lion cub in the snake pit. Whatever shall I do?"

She twisted in his arms, kissing him soundly. "Hi, evil Slytherin git," she teased. She couldn't see him in the blackness, but she could feel him grin against her cheek.

He led her back through the corridor, twisting and taking a side path to get to their room. She fell backwards on the bed, closing her eyes in bliss after a long day of classes and homework. He leaned over her, giving her a back massage. As always, their gentle and friendly massages turned into him holding her in his arms, and from there, to further activities. They rolled over the bed, in a tangle of legs and hands. She wrapped her hands around his back, arching, not complaining when he tugged at her hair by its roots, but scratching her nails down his back in retaliation.

He kissed her languidly when they were done and then held her loosely while he laid on his back and let his eyes wander over the ceiling. Ginny snuggled into his side and gently brushed her hand over his hair.

"When we stop sneaking around, will you still be interested even after the thrill is gone?" She asked quietly, so quietly he could almost pretend he hadn't heard it.

"You're mine," he stated bluntly, turning on his side. "You'll always be mine." He asserted to her.

She smiled brilliantly.

And they fell asleep.

* * *

**Day 42, Roots**

**Words: 297**


	43. Too Easy

**_"Too Easy"_**

Draco watched her cautiously look around before she slipped out a side door to the gardens, out to the courtyard from the castle. Quietly, sneaking along, he followed her. It would probably seem strange to her that he had to know what she was doing all the time, but he'd never tell her how he followed her around secretly. Their relationship was confined to the occasional hook-up at the Slytherin parties he invited her to, but wooing her had proven already to be a much harder task.

Thus he had resorted to following her around in order to figure out new methods of getting inside her head and making her fall for him. But when he saw a dark-headed figure standing with his hands in his jeans, slouching under a column, Draco began to get just a touch suspicious.

"Hey," she murmured quietly as she reached him, and when he smiled back at her, Draco could have sworn he heard his heart thud under his invisibility cloak.

"This way," Harry beckoned her, and they turned underneath the walkway to climb over the wall on the other side and drop to the bottom of the short height of the walkway wall. Trying his hardest to ignore the lurch in his stomach, Draco continued to follow them, using more grace than Ginny or Harry had for the short descent over the wall.

Once they'd seated themselves under a tree, Draco lingered a few feet away, just near enough to catch what they were saying.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked gently.

"Fine…" she said, leaning back and staring up through the tree's leaves above them. "It's almost like it's too easy, you know? He's obviously trying his hardest, and no one's said anything about it. I'm scared everyone knows it's a joke but me. How is this ok with everyone just because the war is over?"

Harry touched her hair gently. "No one's protesting. I understand how weird that is for you, but during the war – his family took him away. Yes, he was a brat when he was here, but they took him away fifth year."

"I'm just worried he's not who he appears to be to everyone. I'm sick of getting hurt – I'm sick of _expecting_ to get hurt." Ginny said quietly.

"You'll be fine." Harry said firmly. "You just have to give it a try. You never know…."

* * *

**Day 43, Too Easy**

**Words: 398**


	44. Insane

**_"Insane"_**

Ginny giggled manically. "Join me," she whispered to him, stretching out an arm from the floor.

He stepped back in horror, viewing the expression on her face. When had this happened? When had she turned from the sweet, beautiful woman he loved to this woman, who had created a room of evil, who'd trapped human beings, who'd clearly turned insane. He didn't understand, clenching his fists in anxiety for her mental health.

"How could you do this?" He finally said, his voice low but hatred seeped into it, poisoning his attitude towards her.

She smiled, but it was not the kind, loving smile of the Ginny he knew. It was the smile of a woman who has been taken over by something mentally stronger than her, something that understands the meaning of prey and predators, and she'd become the latter of the two. It was the smile of a predator who can devour what it wants and turn out only left over bones. Ginny was wearing this vicious smile, and Draco could feel his heart crack, lines sharply running along it as a pond iced over cracks in the middle and swallows a person and makes them unreachable because of the treachery the pond hides within its depths.

"You're to join me," she repeated, her voice silky smooth, which only scared him further and convinced him of the wrongness that was taking place within her mind. "Or I don't know what the voices will tell me to do about you."

The last line took place in a sing-song kid's voice, and he instinctively took a step away from her. "Gin… this isn't real." He breathed, unable to articulate the horror of his feelings for the scene before him.

She twisted onto her back in unnatural positions. "They speak!" She cried out.

He carefully took two more steps back while she was not watching, and then, faster than she could react, fled, slamming the door closed and barring it quickly with his magic. He knew this barrier he'd set up would only be temporary, especially if she was determined to get out, but he was more determined to keep her in, keep her madness away from the world. He was the only one living in Grimwald House. He never had to let anyone know she was trapped in there, but he would keep her alive. For as long as he lived.

* * *

**Day 44, Insane**

**Words: 400**

**A/N: Bwahaha? This is a spin-off from one of my as-of-yet-uncompleted stories that I originally began writing for a DG Forum challenge and then never fully finished. My mind is very interesting, indeed.**


	45. Clouds

**_"Clouds"_**

"That one looks like an ice cream cone!" Ginny giggled at the sky. "And…a cookie!"

Idly, 7-year-old Ginny pulled a flower off its stalk and began peeling the petals off it. As she thought of it, this was her field. No one followed her around when she played outdoors, and although Ron was supposed to be watching her, he was too busy playing Quidditch and fit in with his older brothers that she'd easily wandered away from the game, especially since they didn't have a broom for her to play with. That game had become boring easily, and it was so much harder for her to pay attention if she wasn't directly involved.

She'd easily found the field full of her favorite flower, Queen Anne's Lace, and amused herself by pointing out clouds to herself.

"A…zebra!" She shouted. She'd never seen a 'zebra', but they'd talked about muggle animals in her preHogwarts classes.

"My daddy says this field is infested with Nargles," A serene voice interrupted her.

Ginny stared at the blonde girl, who was so careful to pronounce every word correctly. "Well, this is MY field, and I say it's _not_." Ginny announced.

"You're on my daddy's property," Luna pointed out to the belligerent red-head. "Do you want to look for Ribbles? They like to burrow underground, and you can find their tunnels if you stomp around hard enough. They're probably all over this field."

Ginny quickly agreed to this idea, and Luna giggled as she watched Ginny's hair ferociously fly around her face as she jumped up and down on the field.

Before long, the sun was beginning to slowly sink beyond the horizon. "I have to go now," Ginny said sadly. She'd wanted to keep looking for Ribbles, but time had flown while she'd used up excess energy running around her field.

"We can look for Ribbles some other time," Luna assured her.

Without another word, Ginny raced off towards home, not even worried about facing her mother with the assurance she had someone to play with now.

* * *

**Day 45, Clouds**

**Words: 343**


	46. Challenge

**_"Challenge"_**

"You shouldn't feel bad," Harry said quietly, running a hand through his hair. "We knew this might be hopeless. This entire mission was a challenge. We still don't even know if we're going to find them all and make it through. He's just more down about this than we are."

Hermione jumped up. "But he didn't have to leave us!"

She looked ready to storm out too, even though Harry knew she'd just refused to leave with Ron. He was more worried she would leave and get into trouble on her own than he was worried he would be left alone. "Don't leave." He said, his eyes showing concern.

She stared at him. "Are you crazy?" She finally said. "I'm not leaving! I'm not going anywhere without you."

He smiled at her suddenly, and she felt struck dumb for a moment. She had always known she cared about him – but suddenly she realized she had just chosen him over Ron. She'd never needed Ron in her life the way she'd always needed Harry to be there for her.

On an impulse, she put a sad tinge to her smile when she looked back at him, and then Hermione stated she was going to bed, turning away and quickly getting ready for sleep.

"Good night." He said, as he blew out the lamp in their tent and climbing in his bed across from her.

Harry rolled over nearly two hours later when he felt weight on his bed, sitting up sharply, his wand already in his hand. "Wha…"

"It's just me," Hermione whispered. "I'm lonely. I can't sleep alone. Please."

He obligingly scooted over for her, letting her under the covers and pulling them tightly over her to keep her warm. Harry was almost nervous to let himself wrap his arms around her, but the bed was so narrow that it was nearly impossible not to touch her. Soon, he could tell she was fast asleep again, that his presence had made her feel comfortable and secure once more. Slowly and gently, he wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep happy.

It had been the start of everything that made him happy, Harry thought 5 years later, watching Hermione play with their daughter Desirea outside their rambling farmhouse.

* * *

**Day 46, Challenge**

**Words: 378**

**A/N: What? A non-angsty one that ends in happiness? What sort of madness am I writing? :P **


	47. Sight

_**"Sight"**_

It was nothing but sight, nothing but pure vision, he thought as he reached out blindly, searching in the dark for what he knew not. He wished he understood the tight emotions balled up in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe, making him strain harder to find the light.

But it failed him in his dreams, over and over. The light refused to be found, and he was so sure in his mind that if he could only turn around on his path he would find it, but he could only stumble forward unseeingly. He was never sure if it was that he could not see or if it was that there was no light to be found. Sometimes, within the depths of the dream, he was sure that the light was running away from him, just barely escaping his grasp, and if he only moved fasted he would catch it and this nightmare, this horror would be over. But other times, he was broken down and convinced that light did not exist and he would be trapped here forever.

He would wake up struggling not to cry as he opened his eyes in relief and could see the red and gold tapestry around his bed. Harry buried his head in his hands and kept the scream he felt inside his mind, trapped in his throat.

* * *

**Day 47, Sight**

**Words: 249**

**A/N: I sort of connect this one to Flying in my mind. I'm not quite sure why. Maybe I'll make them a series or something :)**


	48. Flowers

_"Flowers"_

In his mind, she became a beacon, a blossom not yet reached her full potential. Yes, she had years to go, he thought critically as he watched the slight awkwardness in her stride. But all that he viewed as flawed with her outward appearance could be fixed, and truly, it was the quick mind and witty talent he saw inside her mind that made his thoughts wander to her over and over when he came to pick his son up from the train station. Yes, she would be quite a woman when she was matured, with the correct help along the way.

For the better part of her last 3 years in Hogwarts, he'd sent her books that he thought would be particularly useful, and he was gratified to see the results from the etiquette book. Her walk became more graceful and womanly, and as her body became older, her mind grew in leaps and bounds. He took pleasure in providing for her mind as well as the innate gracefulness she learned to bring forth and included great literary works – both Muggle and magical – in his packages to her, usually with a short note inside of things he'd found particularly interesting. With each gift, he'd hand-drawn a beautiful sketch of the flower he thought she best represented, inked with calligraphy colors.

On her 21st birthday, he sent her a card and asked if she would join him for dinner at Marco's, a restaurant frequented by high pureblood families. Ginny accepted, and Lucius met her outside the door with a tiger lily in his hand to present to her.

* * *

**Day 48, Flowers**

**Words: 268**

**A/N: My first ever Lucius/Ginny! I rather enjoyed writing this :)**


	49. More

**_"More"_**

It was power that he craved, power that he continually sought. It made him feel like he could rule the world, like he could achieve the goal he'd set for himself at a young age, when he'd first discovered how he could hold power over others. He could make others adore him or cower from him. His range of talents, he believed, would take him far.

But it was based on always being one step ahead, always having more. More power, more talent, more knowledge – these all tied into the things he began to crave. He started with knowledge, seeking just hints of things at first so he could put hard hours of research into theories he planned to develop, but that quickly degenerated into needing the knowledge, and needing it now. Nothing would stop him from his goal. He hid his plans very carefully from everyone around him, but he was especially cautious around the headmaster, whom Tom was sure knew almost everything. But Tom knew how to be sneaky, and he kept the theories he was working on hidden until it was far too late.

* * *

**Day 49, More**

**Words: 187**


	50. Love

_**"Love"**_

Ah, love. Love indeed. What was there to make of it, Ginny wondered. Did it really mean a greater want to try to work things out? Could they even make sense of this and be ok again? Yes, Ginny loved Hermione, needed her best friend in her life….but how could she let the guy she loved go for the woman she loved as her best friend? She'd never managed to truly stay away from Draco, although she'd tried her hardest to cut things off as much as she could keep away from him. Finally, they'd been able to agree upon a sense of structure for themselves, and Ginny only had to keep working on things with Hermione.

It was as though Ginny was on a roller coaster she couldn't get off of. It was on repeat, sending her plunging into dips, taking her up into heights she wasn't sure she'd wanted to go to. The flat, easy parts only make her more afraid of the next dip or height to come, scared that it would mean breaking at the top or bottom. For every height had a fall just as hard, and sometimes she wasn't sure if she'd ever get out of the dips she'd been thrown into by circumstance.

It seemed that this was her path to walk, her path to balance between, but it was much harder for her to keep Hermione on one side, Draco on the other, and stay in the middle herself. More and more often, she found herself siding with one or the other, or being uncomfortable and awkward as she had no choice but to be pulled in either direction.

Ah, love. Love indeed. What was there to make of it?

* * *

**Day 50, Love**

**Words: 287**


	51. Anent

**_"Anent"_**

"Focus on your image," the voice floated through the Room of Requirement. "Make it a reality."

Ginny had a tropical island envisioned in her mind. This was part of the DA's mediation exercise, to imagine a place that made you feel safe and relaxed so that you could focus more on the new spells to learn later. The faded image of a tropical island Ginny had in her head from an old magazine suddenly wavered and became alive. She could see the palm trees swaying gently in the breeze, a hammock underneath. Birds squawked high above her, and waves lapped around her feet, cooling her off from the light island heat.

In front of her, she caught sight of something bright. As she walked closer, a tropically colored blanket came into view, with a basket and a man sitting patiently on it, waiting for her to arrive.

She smiled at him as she sat down and gathered her skirts around her.

"Just on time," he said with a chuckle, handing her a fruity drink.

She happily sipped it while talking to him. In a while, she set her drink aside and laid back on the blanket, pillowing her head on the sand. It was so much fun to spend time with him, but she'd always been just a touch off-balance since she'd first started seeing him on her island. She felt as though this had turned from a meditative exercise to dreams, and that those dreams had a specific plan already set out for her to traipse.

He followed suit and reclined too. Their hands just barely touched as he shifted, and both of them very carefully did not move their hands. They laid anent in silence.

The voice cut through her dream abruptly. "Alright, let's begin practice." Ginny opened her eyes and joined the rest of the DA.

Her dream self disappeared from the island with a small pop, and Draco sat up, sighing. When would she realize that he didn't exist any longer in the real world? He'd instead been trapped on this island that apparently only was real in Ginny's meditative dreams. She was continually drawn to the island to see him, but he had no words, could not tell her he was bound to the island. Someday, she might realize. He just had to be patient and enjoy her company in the meantime.

* * *

**Day 51, Anent**

**Words: 397**


	52. Corner

**_"Corner"_**

She'd only been in her first year when she mapped out the library, both in her head and on parchment. It had been a series of enjoyable Saturday afternoons acquainting herself with the Hogwarts Library. Some of the books looked really interesting, and she crossed her fingers for a rainy afternoon with no homework to come soon so she could spend all afternoon in the library reading.

But it hadn't been until Hermione's fifth year that she'd discovered a little back aisle, nearly hidden between two bigger aisles. It wasn't lit up by torches, so she magically provided herself with light and began moving back along the aisle. The books were all old family history books, some of which dated back to the Founders. It was more like a short tunnel than anything else. At the end of the short aisle, an arched large window seat, with book shelves along the side, presented itself.

Hermione quickly realized that it was so dark because the shutters on the window were closed as well as no torches. By turning a small handle, Hermione managed to open the shutters, which lurched open bit by bit, sending light streaming into what Hermione soon began to refer to as "her" library corner. She carefully remembered to close the shutters every time she left so that no one else would see the light and become curious.

In times of stress or worry, it became her haven to stay in, her place to retreat from the world and close herself off from unwanted human intruders. She had a beautiful view of the lake, which soothed her through the constant pattern of the waves, no matter what the weather might be.

She was certain not even Madame Pince knew where her corner was, because she'd fallen asleep one afternoon only to wake up and find everything dark and the library closed up for the night. She'd had to carefully sneak out and return to her dorm without being caught.

Her "seventh" year, she'd constantly wished she could go there and be peaceful, just to get away from everything for a bit. After the battle, when she'd checked it out, it had been one of the only places in the library to not be completely destroyed. In fact, it hadn't been touched at all.

* * *

**Day 52, Corner**

**Words: 385**


	53. Guilt

**_"Guilt"_**

"Which way?" He croaked, leaning heavily on her. She struggled, supporting his weight against the slippery mud and rock that lined the bottom of the tunnel they were slowly making their way through. He clutched his arm tightly against his side to put pressure on the bandage. They'd just come to a split of the tunnel, a decision which could either save them or doom them.

"This way," Ginny pointed left firmly and began carefully moving that way, helping Draco along. "We have to keep moving," she reminded him when he paused for the third time in as many minutes.

He nodded grimly and kept putting one foot in front of the other, ignoring the seeping blood. But his stamina could only last so long, and neither of them knew how long they'd been going in this tunnel when his legs gave out and refused to hold him up.

"Please, Draco," Ginny begged. "You have to get up. You promised we'd make it out of here!"

"I promised _you'd_ make it out of here." He said hoarsely amidst a fit of coughing and wheezing.

"But you have to come with me," she whispered, close to tears.

He shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "I'm not getting out of here, Ginny. Keep going."

"No!" She snapped. "I'm not leaving you here alone to bleed to death."

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," he managed to say just before turning on his side and coughing more, blood this time as Ginny watched in horror.

She knelt beside him, mindless of the rocks and mud, and gathered him into her arms, pulling him close. Tears trailed down her face, and she held him until his final breath had left him.

Then, slowly, she got up and continued to stumble on, her mind in shock and grief. She could barely even remember how long they'd been in the tunnels. It seemed like eons ago that they had been captured by Death Eaters and sent to mine materials and be their work slaves. They'd been lucky to survive as long as they had, lucky to even have been able to escape during a counter fight between the Death Eaters and a group they had no clue to the identity. But Ginny knew she'd never be able to let go of the guilt that she'd been the one to survive.

* * *

**Day 53, Guilt**

**Words: 400**


	54. Prisoner

**_"Prisoner"_**

"Come on," he coaxed her, determined to have her spend the day with him. "It's so nice outside. Please come?"

She smiled, tugging her hand away from him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I have to go to work," she said, giggling as he placed a kiss on the back of her neck.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked as she walked down the stairs.

"Hermione's my prisoner for the day," Charlie responded. "I want to have a picnic with her."

"Oh, go on, Hermione!" Ginny encouraged her.

Hermione wavered, and then gave in with a sigh. "If my boss fires me, I'm finding a way to get you fired as well," she warned Charlie.

He smiled and then picked her up, sweeping her off her feet neatly. Ginny helpfully picked up the picnic basket near the doorway and handed it to Hermione, waving them out the door of the apartment Ginny and Hermione shared.

"Have a good time!" Ginny called after them, giggling, and then closed the door firmly.

Once outside, Charlie gently set Hermione down, but not without stealing a real kiss first. He took her hand and they began walking towards the park, where gentle slopes near the river made it perfect for a picnic.

It was a beautiful day, and even the thunderstorm at the end couldn't ruin the day for Hermione. In fact, rushing to gather up the stuff and duck under a pavilion led to more laughing together and enjoying watching the rain pour down around them as Charlie wrapped his arm around Hermione to keep her warm.

* * *

**Day 54, Prisoner**

**Words: 265**


	55. Craft

_**"Craft"**_

Draco casually entered the gallery, a small bell jingling above the doorway. He crinkled his nose as he moved around. The arrangement of the space was entirely too cramped for him, much too unorganized. However, the artist was wonderful. In his head, he was already plotting how he would reorganize the space had he been the manager of this gallery.

"Hello!" A cheery voice greeted him when he reached a far back corner of the room, and he glanced in and then slowly did a double take from the gallery crowded full of work to the artist.

Ginny blinked at him from painting her latest craft, a child's toy box that she would later spell the figures to move position as toys were added and removed from the box.

He shook his head and moved on slowly, unaware of the glare Ginny was sending at his back. It was a wonder she managed to sell anything, he thought as he came to a boxed in aisle and was forced to turn around and trek back the way he had come. It was unfortunate, but he imagined she must like it this way, or she would most likely find someone to take care of this mess for her.

Draco left the store, still thinking about how he could portray her art in the best light. Maybe he'd come back later…

* * *

**Day 55, Craft**

**Words: 229**

**A/N: Well, I'm on my way again with this! I'm re-editing these as I go along so they won't be updated with any sort of schedule, it'll be as I finish them. :) I'm on winter break as of Friday though, so I should have plenty of time to finish these up. Thanks for reading & reviewing, I appreciate it!**


	56. Misfortune

_**"Misfortune"**_

Harry always thought his entire life had been one big mess, like he'd never had a breath or chance to relax. There was always _something_ that made him just want to throw in the towel and walk away, but he knew he had people depending on him and friends to keep him upright. The times he'd wanted to give up were the worst, and although he had Ron and Hermione, sometimes it was hard to talk to them. Ron barely understood how Harry didn't want to be special, and Hermione would just tell him to shoulder up and keep slogging through.

Sometimes he just wanted someone to tell him his life was one big misfortune and just be there for him. It was hard to pay attention to girls at parties when he was more worried about how he was going to stay alive. But somewhere in his head, he wished for that one girl who would make his life worth staying alive. Once Ron and Hermione began dating in 6th year, he looked at them and saw what he wanted, but didn't have. And he knew any girl who he would be willing to date would have to be fully understanding and willing to stay with him through the war, not just be with him for his fame as The-Boy-Who-Lived. He cursed under his breath. The stupid label had plagued him all his life.

Someday, he swore to himself silently, he would just go somewhere else when this was over. He would find someone and a place that had no idea who he was or what he'd done, and maybe then he would be able to concentrate on finding his happiness.

* * *

**Day 56, Misfortune**

**Words:282**


	57. Plot

_**"Plot"**_

Neville carefully readjusted his telescope, enjoying the calm serenity of the stars' light. Although everyone knew he loved Herbology, barely anyone knew he loved Astronomy as well. The simple fact that the stars couldn't respond to his rants was something that made him love the silence and quiet of night. He frowned when a corner of Gryffindor Tower got in the way of his stargazing, but there was nothing that could be done about that. He absolutely refused to go to the Astronomy Tower to stargaze, as far too many people frequented it.

Stargazing was almost a meditative exercise for him, a self-healing at the end of a long day, which most days were. He wished he would grow into his height, or be able to amass body muscle, or look something other than his chubby, fairly short figure. His grandmother was always telling him he would grow into his height much as his father did, but until he did, it made life hard for him, especially with struggling in other classes as much as he did.

He laid out a blanket and laid back, content to set his star plot aside and look up at the night sky. Often times, since no one knew where this was, he would willingly fall asleep here and wake up early to return to the dorm and prepare for another long day.

* * *

**Day 57, Plot**

**Words: 229**


	58. Pen To Paper

**_"Pen-To-Paper"_**

Draco scowled as he angrily scratched out another word in his letter home. He'd been working on this letter for over an hour now and was thoroughly sick of pretending he actually _wanted_ to be a Death Eater. How could his father allow him to mar his perfect skin? It would be horrendous for his future should Lucius allow Voldemort to brand him. Draco sniffed haughtily – he was not a cow!

He was determined to join Dumbledore's little army should his father ever insist upon this madness. There was no way he was following a crazy man intent upon one boy's death so he could take over the world. Had Voldemort even _thought_ about what he was going to do after Potter's death? No, Lucius only ever wrote things like "Potter must be eliminated before the Dark Lord reveals his further plans", or, "The Dark Lord keeps his plans private, but Potter is an important key element. He must be removed from the equation before we, his loyal followers, can move forward on the Dark Lord's orders."

Plus, Potter kept school interesting for Draco. Who else would he be able to taunt mercilessly if Potter was "eliminated"? Who else would he get in satisfying fist fights under the bleachers with? Weasley? He was such a brute Draco feared for his life if Weasley ever sat on him. On the other hand, Potter was just the right size to be able to get a few good swings in and take a few good punches in a brawl.

Draco threw down his pen in disgust. The last letter from home was the last straw. There would be no more putting pen to paper in an effort to discourage his father from making him into a Death Eater. He would simply have to do something drastic to show he was serious about not being a follower of Voldemort.

He joined The Order of the Phoenix the next day, determined to protect Potter. Life would be boring without him anyway.

* * *

**Day 58, Pen To Paper**

**Words: 336**

**A/N: Hm. This one was really fun to write :)**


	59. Stars

**_"Stars"_**

Ginny spiraled her broom downwards around Gryffindor Tower slowly. The night was beautiful, and the stars above her twinkled happily. She snapped her eyes back to her path just in time, as she nearly scraped off the tower. She suddenly angled away from the tower, pushing her broom nearly straight downwards. She pulled upwards sharply as she saw another figure zoom past below her, not even seeing her above.

She grinned as she recognized the hair gleaming in the moonlight, and sent her broom sweeping after him. Ha, ha, she thought – sweeping. She giggled to herself as she casually pulled her broom up beside him in midair.

"Having a good midnight ride, Malfoy?" She inquired politely, as if they were having a tea party conversation and not sweeping above Hogwarts after midnight.

Malfoy jerked, nearly careening off his broom at the shock of hearing another voice beside him. "And here I thought I would have a peaceful ride," he remarked to the sky dryly.

"Nope, I'm afraid this only gets you admission to the Insomnia Club," Ginny said cheerfully.

He arched an eyebrow, pulling his broom around to face her and hovering in midair. "I do not have insomnia," he said scornfully.

"Oh?" Ginny asked. "Are you tired?"

He directed a glare her way. "I had caffeine earlier is all." He derisively muttered.

Ginny disbelievingly stared at him.

"Fine!" He snapped. "I'm not tired. It's 3am. Are you happy now?"

"Quite." Ginny said, laughing. "Let's race. First person from here to the Owlry wins!"

They took off simultaneously into the night sky.

* * *

**Day 59, Stars**

**Words: 262**


End file.
